Sky Princess 3rd June Norway and Iceland - Review

[Neil_c]

We completed this cruise at the weekend and here is my short review.  These are based on our party of 4, 2 of us seconded time with Princess but have sailed on other lines and 2 first timers

Pros
Love the ship – although a covered pool would be useful 
Entertainment – Enjoyed all the shows we saw and thought they were a very high standard -especially the Beatles tribute act and “The Trawlermen”  - The trivia we attended was a bit mixed as they were trying to cater for passengers from UK and USA (nearly 50/50 split). But as we won the long trivia quiz it was appositive!
Food –  we enjoyed it and thought it was an improvement on the sailing from last year and on a recent P&O cruise. Good choices in the World Fresh Marketplace and not difficult to get a table.
Crew – Excellent all trying the best to serve everyone and always with a smile on their faces.

 

Cons
Shore excursions – We saw the price compared to booking independently and did not book any ships excursions, from talking to fellow passengers we got better trips at less costs.
Sensor light in Stateroom – Hated the one in the closet area went on when not needed, went off when needed.

 

Overall, we had a great time, we had great weather with it dry at every port in Norway and Iceland, with calm seas throughout. We booked another cruise onboard for September and the 1st timers are smitten just waiting for them to book more
 

[BabsinTX]

Glad to here this.  We're sailing Sky to Norway and Iceland next summer and now really can't wait!

[nini]

We were also on this cruise. The auto night lights were new to us and we are not fans. The hall light is like a search light when your cabin mate gets up to use the bathroom! So DH fixed it by covering the sensor and I would place a pillow in front of the sensor for the nightstand.

We enjoyed the entertainment as well. All of our shore excursions were private and we had great weather except for one port that was super cold and windy! That tour was our worst one as well.

The crew was great except we were disappointed with our cabin steward. He was probably the worst one we have ever had so we did not tip him "extra".

[CaptainPedantic]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:02 AM, Neil_c said:

Shore excursions – We saw the price compared to booking independently and did not book any ships excursions, from talking to fellow passengers we got better trips at less costs.

Thanks for sharing this review @Neil_c 

Would be interested to know what independent trips you did in Iceland if you don't mind sharing details

[scobie15]

We used arctic shorex at isafjordur to do the dynjandi waterfall and the west fjords and it was a waste of time and money. The minibus was cramped,the windows were too low to see both sides and the trip to a village/farm was a joke. 

[Neil_c]

4 hours ago, CaptainPedantic said:

Thanks for sharing this review @Neil_c 

Would be interested to know what independent trips you did in Iceland if you don't mind sharing details

We used Sagatravel.is -  Lake Mývatn Classic from Akureyri Port and from Reykjavik for the Golden Circle - both small coaches. 

others in our party  did a puffin boat tour and kayaking in Grundarfjordur

 

[Neil_c]

15 hours ago, BabsinTX said:

Glad to here this.  We're sailing Sky to Norway and Iceland next summer and now really can't wait!

Hope you have good weather too

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 6/22/2023 at 5:02 AM, Neil_c said:

We completed this cruise at the weekend and here is my short review.  These are based on our party of 4, 2 of us seconded time with Princess but have sailed on other lines and 2 first timers

Pros
Love the ship – although a covered pool would be useful 
Entertainment – Enjoyed all the shows we saw and thought they were a very high standard -especially the Beatles tribute act and “The Trawlermen”  - The trivia we attended was a bit mixed as they were trying to cater for passengers from UK and USA (nearly 50/50 split). But as we won the long trivia quiz it was appositive!
Food –  we enjoyed it and thought it was an improvement on the sailing from last year and on a recent P&O cruise. Good choices in the World Fresh Marketplace and not difficult to get a table.
Crew – Excellent all trying the best to serve everyone and always with a smile on their faces.

 

Cons
Shore excursions – We saw the price compared to booking independently and did not book any ships excursions, from talking to fellow passengers we got better trips at less costs.
Sensor light in Stateroom – Hated the one in the closet area went on when not needed, went off when needed.

 

Overall, we had a great time, we had great weather with it dry at every port in Norway and Iceland, with calm seas throughout. We booked another cruise onboard for September and the 1st timers are smitten just waiting for them to book more
 

We just did an Iceland/Norway sailing that departed on May 13th.  This was the sailing that had so much trouble with missed ports that I reported on.  However, I believe you guys had a very different itinerary from what we had.

 

I agree with pretty much everything you say except the weather!  That and high winds is what caused all the missed ports.  The ship and crew are great!  So much so that we are doing the transatlantic crossing on her in November...

[bluenose66]

Can I ask is the drinks package worth it and is there a limit you can drink each day were on this cruise next year

[Rick&Jeannie]

Every individual has to determine for themselves whether or not a package is worth it to them.  We *always* book the Princess Plus fare option because we want the wifi, gratuities and drinks included.  I know that some people will say that unless you're big drinkers (we're not) then the Plus package is not worth it.  We just like the convenience of having it all "taken care of" beforehand so that when we're on board we don't have to worry about these details.  Now, if you're talking about the "standalone" drink package (we've never done that) then you just have to do the math.  Determine how many drinks that you might have each day and go from there.  Personally, we would lose money going that route...but everyone has there own ideas!

[shipsealand]

DW & I were on this Norway and Iceland cruise also.  God's grace we had good weather.  The prior one had rain and windy and the one after had rain, even heavy rain.  Made it to all the ports and enjoyed the great weather and guides said we were able to see the tops of mountains and brought good weather with us. This cruise was on my bucket list and highly recommend it.